Monthly Archives: September 2011

Courage, Curiosity, Confidence, and Constancy were Walt Disney’s Four C’s or his key’s to leadership and life that helped him make his dreams come true. We took our sixth grade class to Disneyland to see how these key’s to leadership work.

We had a great time taking a tour of Mainstreet, Tom Sawyers Island, and Splash Mountain learning how these four C’s work together to make things happen. We had two great tour guides who, through hand on activities, took our students see how they to could take their dreams that others might call impossible and make them possible. I’m possible is one whay to change one’s way of thinking when they here the word impossible. The power to dream and chase after is what courage is all about to Watl Disney. Many people thought many of his dreams were impossible, but time and time again he proved them wrong. Our students got to hear and see how he did that up close.

Here are all four C’s definitions. Test your kids to see what they learned and remember.

At Highland Tires & Services located on Highland Ave. between Arden and Victoria.

Pre-sale tickets are on sale for $10.

Each student is asked to sell 10 tickets.

Sign ups to help are already up at the bottom of the sixth grade stairwell. Every family is asked to work one three hour shift.

Old towels and supplies are needed and are greatly appreciated. If you are working a later shift you can bring in your supplies on Friday before the car wash so we can use them throughout the whole day. Thanks.

It is has been great to see our class use their imagination and creativity to tell a story. We might not be a classroom full of Walt Disney’s, but we definitely have a creative base.

As we have been learing about Walt Disney and animation we decided to practice our own talents through making flip books. We even had a contest and selected the three winners above. The students did a great job and you can see the rest of the flip books on youtube. They would be found under DRCS Flip Books I or II.

Disneyland, California

Y.E.S. Program on Leadership

Thursday, September 29th

8:00 am to 4 pm

Cost $33 –Bring lunch

Parent(s)

Our first all class field trip is just two weeks away.

We are studying the life and work of Walt Disney and his ideas impact in our world. We have talked about how he always thought big and in different ways to catch the imaginations of many. We have already talked about how time and time again he was willing to take risks to accomplish his dreams. We will continue to talk about the power of good story telling and hard work. Walt Disney has impacted the culture in many ways and his inspiration to dream continues to ignite people around the world.

We are taking the class on a behind the scenes guided tour at how Disney made his dream a reality through his leadership. We will also get to explore three attractions and learn how they were designed and created. We all know our kids have dreams, and some with dreams that could really make a difference in this world. Our desire for this month and trip is that they can gleam from Walt Disney’s life and leadership.

I do have some bad news though. Because of the nature of the tour we are only allowed to take three teacher/chaperones on the tour. Pastor Steve, Miss Beyer, and I will take those slots. We are still in need of drivers and if you have a pass you can enjoy the park while we are on tour. If you are willing to drive and hang out in Downtown Disney while we are on the tour that would be much appreciated. If you have questions please let me know.

Students will need to bring a backpack, sack lunch, and a light snack as our tour will be from 10:30am to 1:30pm. We will have some time to snack during our tour.

Again, we are in need of at least three drivers for this field trip. If you can drive, please fill out the permission slip handed out in class.

How many times have you seen something that was a simple idea that made things easier and said, “I wish I would have thought of that.” Maybe you have seen a new invention that you thought about inventing for years and said, “Man, I could have been rich.” We have all had those thoughts from time to time. We have all had ideas that were good but never had the time, energy, or resources to make it happen. We possibly even thought that no one would buy into the idea we had. Walt Disney on the other hand thrived in that arena when it came to entertainment. When Walt had an idea he believed in nothing would stop him. This is one reason he was so successful.

Most of us can’t imagine life without seeing Disney films with our family. We have become so accustomed to looking forward to seeing the new Disney or Pixar film we forget that full length films were not always there. In 1934 Walt started creating the story of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” as a full length feature film. At that time people thought Walt was insane. Who would pay to watch a full length cartoon? Walt believed, if done right, it would be a success. He believed it so much that he put his company 1.5 million dollars in debt to produce it. On December 21, 1937, the movie was released in theaters and within six months the debt the Walt Disney Studio’s owed was paid off and the film eventually earned 8 million dollars. Did I mention it also won an academy award?

Walt’s continued willingness to take a risk on something he believed in allowed him to succeed. Whatif we did the same with our beliefs? Could we have the next million dollar idea? What if we lived out our faith that way? How would we be able to better reach the world for Jesus?

It is hard for many of us today to imagine life without knowing, seeing, or even loving Mickey Mouse.
Disney’s creation of this iconic mouse wasn’t always accepted and sought after. After creating two films with Mickey and failing to distribute them to movie theaters to show, Walt new something had to change. He decided that cartoons, like other films, needed full sound. He, with much hard work and precision, made his third Mickey film, “Steamboat Willie”, full of sound. It was a huge hit as people have never seen or heard anything like it. He changed animation forever and saved his company from total collapse.

Can one change in our lives also make that kind of difference? I believe it can. This one change might not bring us money or
notoriety, but it does have the ability to change one’s life now and forever. Some of you already know what I am about to say and agree full heartily. Many others have been given the opportunity to make the change, but question the reality of the offer. As Walt gave Mickey a voice and sound that changed the way cartoons were made, Jesus can give us much more, life that is full and vibrant. Check out these verses, John 10:10 and Ephesians 2:1-10. When we let Jesus be are everything is when our lives too can be changed and saved.